Can't Catch a Break
by RayvnAshes2
Summary: Gaia has been defeated. The 2nd Giant War is won. But when Nico decides to try the game Sword Art Online, it turns out that he is trapped inside, and if he dies there, he will in the real world, as well. What's a demigod to do? Befriend Kirito, the Black Swordsman, or course! He's not about to let some game get the best of him. Mentions of Solangelo, rated T.
1. Link Start!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online or the books written by Rick Riordan (in this case the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and Heroes of Olympus series).**

 **Warning: well, the story is about a death game, so…be prepared for death and angst.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _In 2022, mankind finally built a full virtual environment._

* * *

Nico grinned excitedly as he opened his package, before quickly frowning again. He glanced around.

No one had seen his lapse.

He had a reputation to uphold, after all. Smiling would ruin that.

"Nerve Gear." He muttered, thumbing over the manual.

He had been rather lucky to get a copy of Sword Art Online, which was being sold in Japan and only had ten thousand copies out so far. Luckily, he had connections.

He followed the directions carefully as he set up, before putting the helmet on his head and leaning back on his bed.

The game required him to pat himself down, so his avatar would be similar to his real body, so he hooked himself up and did so.

"Link Start!" he ordered, once everything was done.

Nico sucked in a breath as he saw loading screens synch his senses to the game.

Or he would have, if he had a body.

Language? English.

Could've gone with Italian, but English was more widely known. Ancient Greek and Latin weren't even options.

Nico logged on to his account.

[Character Registration]

User name?

The Son of Hades pondered that for a few minutes. It wasn't very smart to use your real name for this kind of thing, Son of Hades was a _really_ bad idea, and Ghost King just sounded lame.

Something that he could respond to fairly naturally, but still paid homage to the Greek deities…

He typed in the name as it came to him.

 _Welcome to Sword Art Online!_

* * *

Nico blinked as he suddenly found himself in the town square.

He glanced around, blinking slowly.

Wow. Everything not only looked but _felt_ realistic. He could barely tell the difference between this and the real world.

His eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why could he still feel people's life-forces?

That…was slightly disconcerting.

* * *

Deep in the Cardinal System of the game, Yui's eyes widened in wonder as she analyzed one of the new player's stats.

He came _into_ the game with his combat, strength, agility, stamina, speed, and sword skills already at a fairly high level.

How could that be?

The boy hadn't been a beta tester, so he hadn't had those skills carry over to his new avatar.

So how had he gotten them?

* * *

Nico grunted as he killed yet another wild boar, gaining more Col (AN: money) and experience as he did so.

The sword skills were kind of weird, since he wasn't used to having to channel his power with a focus, but this wasn't the real world. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't raise armies of the dead or force the shadows to do his bidding here.

*Congratulations! You have reached level 5!*

Not too bad, considering.

Though at this rate he'd need to replace his weapon soon. Not his armor, though, since the beast hadn't managed to get through his defense and begin to wear it down.

Nico's eyes widened as he was suddenly surrounded by a bright light.

"What the Hades?!" he hissed, before finding himself back where he had begun.

The Town of Beginnings.

From what he could hear, he wasn't the only one pulled from whatever they had been doing. A forced teleportation?

What was this? Some kind of event?

Nico didn't have time to wonder, as a large image appeared in the sky of a male in a red cloak that covered his face.

* * *

Hazel screamed in horror as she watched the news report.

Ten thousand people were trapped in the new game Sword Art Online.

They had to beat the game in order to get out, and if they died in the game, they died in real life. Removing the helmet connecting them to the game would also result in their death.

And the worst part?

Her half-brother Nico was one of the players.

She immediately pulled out a drachma, preparing to message Will Solace.

He was Camp Half-Blood's lead healer, and she had a feeling that Nico was going to need medical attention if he was going to survive.

After all, he couldn't even move his real body while hooked up to the Nerve Gear, much less eat.

* * *

Nico closed his eyes after the Game Master's announcement.

Damn it!

He just _had_ to try out the game before running his errands, didn't he? If he had waited until afterwards, chances were he wouldn't have been logged in and trapped in this death game.

Patience is a virtue, indeed.

He took a deep breath as he took stock of his surroundings.

Unsurprisingly, everyone was still frozen in place, too in shock to do anything.

Nico himself wasn't as useless because he'd been in much worse situations. This was incredibly irritating, but it was hardly the worst thing that had ever happened to him.

He caught a movement in his peripheral vision, only to see a boy slightly older than him conversing with an older guy with red hair.

Nico only caught a few words of what he was saying, but it was enough.

If they stayed in the Town of Beginnings, resources would quickly run out. It would be better to go to the next town before everyone else.

The redhead turned down the offer to go with the younger-looking boy, and the two shook hands.

* * *

Hazel looked up as the door slammed open, and Will ran in.

"You didn't try to remove it, did you?!" he demanded desperately, examining Nico's unmoving body.

He'd been following the news, too, but hadn't found out that Nico was playing it until Hazel called him for help.

"No." Hazel denied, hands shaking. She had been about to, but luckily the newscaster had mentioned the repercussions before she went through with it.

The Son of Apollo muttered a healing chant, checking her brother's vitals.

"He's fine, physically." He said after a long moment, swallowing hard. "We need to get him hooked up to an IV, maybe something to monitor his brain activity. I'll ask my dad to see if he can do anything, but…"

But this was a mortal problem, and Apollo might not be _allowed_ to interfere, regardless of whether or not a demigod was a victim of it.

Hazel nodded jerkily, indicating that she understood.

It wasn't Will's fault. It wasn't even Apollo's. She could lay some of the blame on Zeus (or Jupiter) for forbidding godly actions in situations, but…it was really Kayaba Akihiko's fault.

She was so caught up in her own grief and thoughts that she didn't notice Will slide down the wall and put his head in his arms, trying to stop himself from sobbing.

The boy he had fallen in love with was trapped in a game, could die at any moment…and despite the fact that they were half-god and had amazing powers, they could do nothing to help him.

And the Son of Hades had no idea how he felt about him.

Will's fists clenched as a few tears finally fell.

Why did everything always happen to Nico? Couldn't the Son of Hades ever catch a break?

* * *

"Mind if I tag along?" Nico asked, stepping out of the shadows.

The other black-haired boy spun around, swinging his sword, but Nico dodged with practiced ease.

"Sorry." The Son of Hades apologized, realizing that startling someone after the Kayaba's announcement wasn't a very good idea. "You and the redhead weren't exactly quiet. I'm not a fan of crowds, so going somewhere relatively empty sounds like a good idea."

"Uh…" the other boy wasn't sure what to make of this guy. He looked a lot like him, with black hair and dark eyes, but he could tell that the other boy wasn't Japanese. "Sure thing. Party?"

Nico thought back to what he remembered about parties in the manual. "That's fine."

The other boy dragged up his screen and sent him an invite, which Nico immediately accepted.

The Son of Hades raised an eyebrow as another name suddenly appeared beneath his up on the left of his field of vision.

"Nice to meet you, Kirito." He greeted, correctly assuming that that was the other boy's username.

"You too…Nyx?" the boy tried, not quite sure about the pronunciation. His grades in English were some of the highest in his class, but he hadn't come across this word before. "Cool name."

"Thanks." Nico muttered, following Kirito as they left the town, killing the wolves that were attacking them without hesitation. "Got it from Greek mythology."

Despite how un-mythical Greek mythology actually was.

Kirito glanced at the other boy appraisingly. Nyx didn't show any hesitation in his attacks, even though he now knew that one mistake could cost him his life. He didn't seem to be a beta tester, but he already knew how to use the sword skills rather effectively.

A natural, huh?

And by the determination Kirito could see in his dark brown eyes, there was no doubt in Kirito's mind that Nyx would get out SAO alive.

He smiled a bit at the realization, suddenly feeling emboldened.

The drive to survive and beat the odds was contagious, but unlike the cold or the flu, Kirito didn't mind catching it.

Hopefully it would become an epidemic, because they were going to need it.

* * *

"Mind if I ask how far you got during the beta test?" Nico asked, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes as the two continued running to the other town.

Kirito glanced at the other boy. "I was in here for two months and I only got to Floor 8. Though, this time it should only take half as long, or even less, considering the fact that advancing is imperative now."

Nico frowned thoughtfully.

"You'll have an idea of what to expect, but don't depend on your knowledge from the beta." He warned. "There's bound to be things that were changed. Wouldn't want to gamble your life only to find out that your intel was wrong."

Kirito shuddered at the implications of that statement. "Good point."

Neither of them verbalized what they were both thinking. In a game like this, knowledge was key.

* * *

Nico inhaled sharply, eyes wide.

"What's wrong?" Kirito asked, concerned. His new friend wasn't having a mental breakdown, was he?

The Son of Hades shook his head.

"Nothing." He muttered, stabbing a wolf that charged at him. "Momentary freak-out over whether or not I turned off the oven at home. I did, it's just one of those things."

Kirito nodded in understanding.

But that wasn't it at all.

Nico had just felt someone die. Probably a player committing suicide out of a desperate hope that the Game Master was lying, and that they would wake up.

Normally this was completely normal. After all, he was the Son of Hades, lord of the Underworld, and Nico himself held the title 'Ghost King.'

But that shouldn't have been _possible_ here. It was still a virtual world, so Nico shouldn't have been able to feel it.

That meant that Kayaba hadn't only trapped their minds in Sword Art Online…

But their very _souls_.

* * *

 **Please review!**

 **Hope you guys liked the first chapter! :)**

 **Yes, Nico's username is Nyx. Yes, I know that she was (sort of) an antagonist in the Heroes of Olympus series, but that was mostly because they were in her territory. She is one of the primordials, on par with Gaia the Earth and Uranos the Sky. Nyx's domain is Night. Darkness, shadows, you get why I'm having Nico go by her name. That, and Nyx is close enough to Nico that he won't have too much trouble getting used to being called by his username.**

 **No, there will most definitely not be anything romantic between Nico and any of the girls. Some of them might crush on him a bit, but he's not exactly interested in girls, so that wouldn't go anywhere. Also, THERE WILL NOT BE ANYTHING ROMANTIC BETWEEN KIRITO AND NICO! There obviously can't be very many Solangelo scenes since Will isn't in the game with him, but still.**

 **Nico and Kirito are only temporarily teaming up in a party; they'll go solo a bit later. Not because they don't trust each other or anything, but because they're both kind of loners and Nico wouldn't have to worry about giving something away about the Greek stuff if someone isn't around him constantly.**


	2. Floor 1 Boss Fight

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Sword Art Online.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Kirito stared at his friend, baffled.

"You haven't distributed any of your skill points yet?" he asked, wide eyed. "B-but you've been fighting monsters way above what you should be if that's true!"

Meaning Nyx was at a higher level, but he wasn't benefiting from it because he hadn't upgraded his skills (or equipment, for that matter.) Every time he leveled up he earned a few points to spend upgrading his physical attributes (speed, strength, etc.), but he hadn't used any yet.

Nico glanced at him. "I'm being careful. I didn't want to waste my points on something only to find out later on that that particular skill is useless and I should've used them on something else. I'm still getting a feel for the game, how the monsters fight, and what attributes are most important when considering my own fighting style."

Kirito frowned thoughtfully. "How are you so good at combat, anyway? You mentioned that you'd never played one of these games, and you're not upgrading to get stronger right now…"

Nyx grimaced. "I had some pretty serious combat training IRL. Swordplay was a major part of that, though the game's sword skills are obviously new. I'm mostly just relying on that."

Kirito nodded, accepting the explanation, and shook his head with a small smile.

Whatever worked for Nyx. As long as he didn't die…

* * *

*One month later*

Kirito glanced around.

Nyx had overheard someone talking about a meeting meant for those who wanted to find and defeat the boss for the floor so they could advance, and the day had finally arrived.

He watched as a man with blue hair introduced himself with an ice-breaker. The man, Diabel, was about to start when another man stood up and demanded attention.

The black haired boy sunk into his seat at the accusations that followed.

The beta testers were at fault for the players who died, and they should give all of their money and their equipment to the newer players?

Normally Kirito would've ignored it, but…

He _had_ abandoned Klein, hadn't he? Kirito had wanted first pick and to be able to complete the quests so that he could level up quickly, and he hadn't even given a thought to anyone else.

If Nyx hadn't overheard and asked to come along, Kirito would've left him behind too.

Tensions eased slightly as a large man named Agil stood up and defended the beta tests, reminding them all that the guide book they all had had been handed out by beta testers. They all had access to the info, and people still died.

Nyx nudged Kirito as Kibaou sat down in defeat, though he took a moment to nod in thanks to the older man, Agil. If he hadn't stood up, Nico would have.

Blaming each other would get them nowhere.

"Don't fall for it." He muttered to the boy, who still looked guilty. "It's not your fault. This is a survival game, and a majority of those deaths were suicides. Besides, the guy was just looking for someone to blame and a way to get himself better equipment."

Kirito blinked slowly as he processed the sentence, before sighing slightly. "Right. Thanks."

"Right, here's the deal. My group found the boss room at the top of the tower today." Diabel said, gaining their attention. "First, we need to defeat the boss and move on to Floor 2. We're going to need to tell the people in the Town of Beginnings that it's possible to beat this game."

He went on to talk about the boss, taking the information directly from the guide book.

Except…

Kirito startled slightly as Nyx stood up, leaning back against the wall they had been sitting in front of.

"Sorry to interrupt." Nyx began. Diabel groaned mentally, hoping that this guy wasn't another Kibaou, before Nyx continued. "But we might not want to rely too much on the information in the guide book."

"You're suggesting the beta testers who wrote it were lying?" Kibaou asked, eyes glinting in satisfaction.

Nico scowled at the guy. Geez, he just wouldn't give up, would he? "Not at all. However, considering the information was from SAO in its _beta_ state, and the game wasn't completely finished at that point, it does stand to reason that some things were changed. The beta testers wouldn't have any way of knowing that."

Kibaou scowled at the runt, but Diabel and the others in the group nodded thoughtfully.

"Good point." Diabel acknowledged, glad that unlike Kibaou, this guy's input was actually useful. "There's no guarantee that it's the same. Remember the information in the book, then, but be prepared for unexpected surprises."

As one, everyone nodded, though Kibaou did it reluctantly.

After that, the meeting went fairly smoothly. Of course, Kirito and Nico weren't asked to join a party, but they joined up with a girl named Asuna when they realized that she had been left out, too.

* * *

*Later that night*

Nyx was preoccupied, finally making the decision on how to distribute his points to upgrade his physical attributes.

Speed. Stamina. Strength. Agility. Reaction time.

The works.

He glanced over at his new teammate as the girl sat down beside him quietly.

"Ready for tomorrow, Asuna?" he asked conversationally, still looking at his stats.

He heard a sharp intake of breath.

"H-how do you know my name?" a soft, quite female voice asked.

He glanced at her, before pointing in front of her, to the left.

"Top left corner in your field of vision." He explained. "When you join a party, the other members of that party appear under your own name. I'm Nyx."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, surprised, before she giggled. "I feel so dumb. It was there the entire time and I never noticed!"

Nico smiled a bit. She had been so quiet, it was nice to know that she had a personality.

"Don't worry about it, now you know." He said with a shrug. "So…I'm guessing you're new to games like this, too?"

"Yeah." Asuna muttered, fiddling with her cloak a bit. "My brother is the one who owned a copy, but he had to go on a business trip, so he let me try it first. Guess he lucked out, huh?"

Nico glanced at her sympathetically. "Maybe. But who knows, maybe being in here isn't all that bad."

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked, tilting her head curiously.

"When I logged onto the game, I was recovering from…something." Nico explained. "My sister died when I was ten, and I was still getting over her death. I've nearly died dozens of times since then. I was crushing on a friend of mine, watched him date the girl who was obviously better for him, then he was kidnapped, went missing, and when I next saw him again he had amnesia. He got his memories back, I found out that I had a half-sister, lots of drama, and I got over him and fell in love with someone else. Things were getting better, my father accepted my preferences, I was _happy_ again, and then…this."

Asuna was silent for a long moment, heart hurting for this boy. He was obviously a bit younger than she was, and yet he'd been through so much more than she had.

So what if her mother kept on pressuring her to 'marry up?'

And to think, she'd locked herself in her room at an inn for weeks before she had even ventured outside of the Town of Beginnings.

This… _this_ was strength.

She huffed slightly, and it almost sounded like a chuckle.

"What?" Nyx asked warily. Was she a homophobe or something?

Asuna blinked up at him. "Oh, it's not that, promise! I was just thinking…you and…Kirito (?) are good people to be around in this kind of situation. I didn't really take it well, at first. But realizing that everyone else had lives before this too, and that there are people with the drive to beat the game and get out…it helps."

Nyx blinked, slightly baffled (since when was _he_ the one people turned to for this kind of thing?!), and Asuna giggled again at the expression on his face, and even more when he backed away from her as if she was crazy.

* * *

*The next day*

'Oops.' Nico thought sheepishly as Kirito explained to Asuna what switching meant. He'd forgotten to ask if there was anything else she wanted to know more about.

Still, Kirito's expression as he bemoaned having partnered up with someone who had never been in a party before amused him.

The other boy scowled at Nyx, guessing what he was thinking.

'Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.' Kirito thought petulantly.

* * *

Nico shook his head in exasperation as Kirito finished his little 'speech' about being a Beater instead of a beta tester.

He could tell what the older boy was doing (letting the group focus their hatred on him instead of targeting all beta testers), but really?

He sighed, before turning to Asuna, advising her to join a guild if she could, before following his friend.

"You're kind of a dumbass." Nico said about ten minutes later.

Kirito turned to him, startled at the word, and the fact that Nyx had followed him out of the building after Kirito had made his dramatic exit.

"The coat was a bit much."

"Was it?" Kirito asked, hiding a grin as he fingered his new coat. "I kind of like it."

"Diabel nearly died for a coat." Nyx said with a sigh.

Kirito grimaced. "Yeah. Good thing you noticed the different sword when we first saw the boss."

"He was still reckless." Nyx complained. "I mean, really? Our party might have been small, with the three of us, but we didn't try and attack it solo!"

"And he refused the healing crystal." Kirito said, before snickering. "Good call, forcing it down his throat."

Nyx was silent for a long moment.

"I guess I was channeling a friend of mine from the real world." He said quietly, kicking a rock as they made their way to the gate which would lead them to Floor 2. "He's a healer. Whenever I'm stubborn about getting treatment (which happens more than I care to admit), he's just as stubborn and manages to get his way."

"Sounds like an interesting guy."

"He is." Nyx agreed awkwardly, before changing the subject. "So, about Asuna…"

"What about her?" Kirito asked, glancing away.

"You're attracted to her, aren't you?" Nico asked with a smirk. "She is rather pretty, I guess. And for someone who hadn't been in a battle before, she's a natural."

Kirito scowled, feeling a bit jealous. Nyx didn't like her too, did he?

"Relax, I'm not attracted to her." Nico said, rolling his eyes. "She's lacking a few parts."

Kirito blinked slowly (he seemed to do that a lot). "Not your type, eh?"

Nyx shook his head.

"Did you have a boyfriend IRL?" Kirito asked, suddenly more curious about his friend.

It Nyx had been drinking, he would've done a spit take. "Seriously?" he groaned.

"Well, yeah." Kirito said with a shrug, before waggling his eyebrows teasingly. "Should I be worried?"

Nico scowled at him. That would have been offensive if not for the fact that Kirito was obviously joking. "Aside from the fact that you're Japanese and a bit older than me, you could be my twin. I think that would be considered narcissism, which isn't really my thing."

"You're dodging the question." Kirito pointed out with a smirk.

Nyx growled in response. "No, I don't have a boyfriend."

"How about a crush?"

Nyx's silence (not to mention the blush on his face) was answer enough.

* * *

 **Please review!**

 **Sorry, when I write longer stories (especially battle scenes) I tend to kind of skip it and/or have the characters' conversations tell what's happening as opposed to describing the fight. Besides, it's like the second episode of the anime, I'm sure all of you who have seen it know what happened.**

 **The interaction between Asuna and Kirito with the bread already happened. According to the wiki he was the one who managed to snap Asuna out of her funk and begin to hope that she would survive, and that's a major thing for their relationship, so I didn't want to change that.**

 **Nico is being so open with Asuna for a few reasons. For one thing, he tends to open up more to females in his life (like Hazel and Reyna). He knows that trust is essential to being able to work together effectively, and this is a good way to build trust. Also, his friends at the camps have been encouraging him to be more open with his thoughts and emotions, so there's that. And he's trying to get Asuna to open up.**

 **Sorry I didn't go into detail about the boss fight. They won, Diabel nearly died because he wanted the Last Attack Bonus (the coat Kirito ended up getting), Kibaou started shit, mob mentality made a few people accuse the beta testers of something due to being idiots even though Nico pointed out that there would likely be changes, and Asuna isn't in their party. The boys are going to open the gate to Floor 2.**


	3. Come Back to Us

**Disclaimer: I don't own Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Sword Art Online.**

 **Warnings: mentions of pre-slash (Will and Nico), a bit of angst and death, etc. Zeus bashing (of course, I kind of consider that canon, so…)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Will watched anxiously as Apollo, Dionysus, and Hephaestus muttered to each other over Nico's prone body.

It had been three weeks since the announcement of the death game, and Zeus had only just allowed the gods to do anything.

The Son of Apollo glared at the wall behind the trio.

He had never hated anyone more than he hated Zeus at that moment. The king of the gods had decreed that no one attempt to get Nico out of the game.

Why?

'Probably because he hates Nico's guts.' Will thought bitterly. He had always thought that Nico had just been imagining people's prejudice against him, as Will had a lot of faith in people, but this proved that there were indeed people who would persecute him merely because of who his father was.

Hades himself had been extremely close to declaring war on Zeus for the insult of abandoning Nico in such a way. If it hadn't been for Hestia, the ancient world (and by extension the mortal one) would be in chaos.

And the two camps would side with the Lord of the Underworld on this matter.

Will jolted out of his musings as he noticed Apollo sent him a sympathetic, yet stern gaze.

'Sorry dad.' Will thought with a sigh.

' _Never apologize for being loyal and compassionate, son.'_ Apollo told him telepathically. _'If we could do anything that would_ truly _help him, we would. The world owes him much.'_

Apollo didn't say as much, but he was well aware that if di Angelo hadn't convinced Perseus to take on the Curse of Achilles, they would have lost the war against Kronos and the mortals and demigods would have been completely wiped out.

The young man's actions during the Second Giant War only piled on the debt they owed him (as well as the respect that most of the Olympians had for him).

"We cannot remove him from the game." Apollo said aloud, directing his words to the rest of the half-bloods.

Will blinked, slightly surprised. He had forgotten that the others were even there.

Hazel raised a hand to cover her mouth, eyes closing as she started crying quietly. She had known that Zeus would most likely deny her brother help, but actually hearing it was so much worse.

"However…there _is_ a way we can keep an eye on how he's doing."

This time it wasn't Apollo that spoke up, but Hephaestus, who was stroking his beard thoughtfully.

The group looked at him wide-eyed, and Will's neck felt like it would snap, his head moved so quickly.

"Please tell us more, Lord Vul…Lord Hephaestus." Reyna spoke up, eyes hard.

Hephaestus nodded, not bothering to comment on the mistake. She was born a Roman, after all.

* * *

Leo stared at the screen embedded in the wall next to Nico's bed.

He hadn't been sure what he expected to happen after he came back from rescuing Calypso from her long-time prison, but having one of their own being trapped in a death game wasn't it.

Everyone had been happy and relieved that Leo had survived what basically amounted to suicide, but he had immediately realized that something else was going on.

He could see it in their eyes.

Luckily, his father managed to link the screen to what was happening in Sword Art Online as it happened, so they could at least be assured that Nico was doing okay.

The fact that the younger demigod was intending to fight on the front lines surprised none of them.

What _did_ surprise some of them was that the secluded Son of Hades had found a friend: Kirito.

Will's reaction clued Leo in on the fact that the sunny Son of Apollo (puns intended) had feelings for the dark Ghost King.

It had almost been amusing to see the look of utter relief when a) he heard Nico imply that he liked guys, and b) when he told Kirito that he wasn't attracted to him.

Or at least it would've been amusing if Nico wasn't still trapped in the game, and Will couldn't reach him regardless.

Leo exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair (and getting grease and oil in it as he did.)

Damn it.

* * *

Reyna stared at the helmet that had caused this mess.

 _Nerve Gear_.

She wanted to destroy it.

They all did.

The only thing stopping them was the fact that hundreds of people had been killed by the helmet when someone tried to remove it from them.

The praetor forced herself to look away from it, focusing on her hand entangled with Nico's.

Over the course of their quest bringing Athena's statue to Camp Half-Blood, he had become the person she trusted most. She trusted Jason, Frank, Percy, Coach Hedge, Aurum and Argentum, her officers…

But Nico was held above all others.

She had bared her soul to him, and he had done so in return when he released his emotions as he turned Bryce Lawrence into a ghost.

Nico knew her deepest, darkest secret…

And he still liked and respected her regardless.

The Son of Hades had _better_ come back to them.

She wanted her 'brother' back.

They all needed him.

Percy was lost, having had Nico taken away from his right after they had finally cleared the air between them. Hazel was heartbroken, having occasional panic attacks at the prospect of losing her last remaining family (she didn't quite count Pluto/Hades). Annabeth, Frank, and Piper had to deal with their grief as well as their own. Even Leo's smiles and jokes were a bit forced.

Will Solace was the worst. Reyna hadn't noticed before the feelings that he harbored for Nico, but now there was no missing it.

The younger teen almost never left Nico's side, only stepping away to shower (not as often as he used to, she was sure), and occasionally eat. Even then he usually had his siblings bring him his meals. He slept on the bed beside Nico's, reasoning that if something happened (he hadn't needed to specify what, since they all knew what happened to those that were killed in the game), he needed to be there immediately.

He didn't practice archery or play sports with his siblings. He didn't bother doing anything musical like Apollo kids were known for. He barely ever spoke. His skin was far too pale for a child of the sun, and his eyes had shadows under them that rivalled Nico's from during the war. The group had also seen evidence of tears more than a few times, though no one commented on it.

Will Solace was broken.

And none of them knew how to help him.

* * *

Hades gazed at the screen in his throne room, eyes glinting sadly.

Nico and his new 'friend' were doing quite well so far, defeating the boss rather impressively. He had even gotten a chuckle out of the name his son had chosen to be called. Zeus was sure to be furious that Nico had chosen the name of a primordial.

However, impressive battle or not, that was only the first floor out of one hundred.

How much more grief and pain would his son have to endure throughout the rest of the 'game?'

He was glad that Hephaestus had thought to offer to install one of the screens in his palace, but sometimes he wondered if not knowing what was going on would be easier.

From across the room, Persephone watched on helplessly as he worried over his son.

She didn't see what was so great about him, or his dead sister. Never had. She didn't like Pluto's daughter either, for that matter. They were nothing more than proof that Hades had betrayed their marriage.

But despite all that, she did love her husband.

And seeing him in so much pain hurt her as well.

* * *

 **Please review!**

 **They hooked up Hephaestus' device right after Nico's conversation with Asuna, so Will doesn't realize Nico does in fact have a crush on someone from the real world.**

 **Sorry nothing new has happened in the game this chapter. I thought I'd give some of the people who care about Nico some recognition.**

 **Too harsh on Will? Maybe. He hasn't been like this the entire month until the boss fight. It started once he knew for sure that Zeus would refuse to let the others help. He was still depressed and paranoid about Nico suddenly dying, but it got worse. He'll snap out of it eventually.**


	4. Moonlit Black Cats

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online or any of Rick Riordan's works.**

 **Warning: angst, murder…**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Kirito smiled at his new friends in the Moonlit Black Cats guild.

They had been so welcoming to him, despite the fact that they had known each other for years, and he was an outsider.

Granted, the fact that he had saved their lives helped.

"Eh, Kirito?" the leader asked. "If you don't mind me asking, what level are you?"

"Um…I'm level 20." He answered awkwardly, glancing to the side. In his peripheral vision, he could see his stats, including his current level, which was 40.

"Woah!" another guy said. "And you've been playing solo! Sweet! Think you could help us out a bit...?"

Kirito nearly fell out of his chair in shock at the sudden onslaught of pleas as nearly everyone in the group jumped towards him.

He agreed within moments, feeling slightly claustrophobic.

What had he just gotten himself into?

He glanced at the pretty girl, Sachi, who was trying to hold in her giggles at her friends' antics.

Well…maybe it wasn't _all_ bad.

* * *

Kirito sighed in relief as the group managed to kill off a monster, despite the fact that they had had a hard time doing so.

A moment later, he felt someone's presence nearby and glanced around, only to see a familiar figure leaning against a tree, covered in shade.

He grinned at his friend, before jogging towards him. He knew the other boy well enough to know that he wasn't comfortable with strangers, so bringing the Cats' attention towards him might not be the best idea.

* * *

"Who was that?" Sachi asked shyly as Kirito came back.

She had been the first to notice his absence, and had to stop the others from interrupting the two boys.

If Kirito wanted them to know what that was all about, he would tell them.

But that didn't mean that she wasn't curious.

"A friend." Kirito answered with a grin, soothing Sachi's fears that he would think that she was nosy.

* * *

In the end, when the group decided to go to the dungeons to earn more Col and experience, Kirito asked Nyx to tag along. He had faith in his friends, but he wasn't so sure that they would have as easy a time in the dungeons as they seemed to think that they would.

This turned out to be a very good decision on his part.

Nyx held up his sword in front of the door, blocking their way so that they couldn't enter.

"This one is a trap." He intoned calmly.

Kirito's eyes widened, suspicions confirmed, before he nodded. There was no way the Midnight Black Cats would survive a trap on this level.

"How do you know?" one of the guys whined, upset at the situation. The treasure chest was _right there!_

"Besides fighting on the front lines, Nyx is also an information dealer." Kirito explained, before taking ahold of Sachi's shoulders and guiding the girl away from the door. "He works closely with Argo."

The group froze in surprise. Argo was well-known for being the best information dealer in Sword Art Online, and she was almost never wrong.

Meaning…this guy probably knew what he was talking about.

As one, the boys let out a depressed sigh.

Sachi, on the other hand, smiled at the strange boy gratefully. She knew that she wouldn't survive to the end, but she didn't want her friends to die with her.

* * *

Kirito sighed as he teleported himself to Floor 9, where they were working on finding the boss.

He had been away from the front lines for too long. Nyx had already gone back days ago.

His friends in the guild were sad to see him go, but they understood. He was one of the brave few who were fighting for their (eventual) freedom, and he couldn't do that with him.

They were holding him back, and they knew it. Not that Kirito had ever told them as much.

Still, if they trained hard, then maybe they would become strong enough to join him!

* * *

Three weeks later, a woman with brilliant red hair joined the Moonlit Black Cats guild. Within two days, the original members were dead.

* * *

*One week later*

Argo sighed, resigned, as Kirito walked off to go defeat the Christmas event boss Nicholas the Renegade, in the hopes of earning the reward rumored to bring one person back to life in the game.

Why must he be so stubborn?

His recklessness was going to get him killed one of these days.

* * *

Three hours later, Klein perked up as a portal appeared and Kirito walked out.

He didn't like the blank look on his friend's face, much less the emptiness in his eyes.

Kirito tossed him the rare item that he'd earned, and though surprised, Klein read the description.

The item must be used…within _ten seconds._

"It's yours." Kirito said stoically, causing Klein to look up in shock. "If someone ever dies in front of you, use it."

"Wait, Kirito!" the redhead shouted after his friend, who ignored him and walked away.

He took a shuddering breath. "Damn it."

The kid was already a loner, and getting his hopes up only to find out that he couldn't save whoever he was trying to save wasn't going to help.

* * *

Kirito listened to the message crystal that Sachi had apparently arranged to be sent to him on Christmas before she had died.

What would she say? Did she hate him for giving her an empty promise, telling her that she would be able to go back to the real world?

No.

She knew that he had lied to them about his level, but didn't blame him for it. She thanked him for his help, and for making her happy even though she had known that her death was coming.

Then she had started to hum Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in honor of the holiday.

Kirito cried himself to sleep that night, but oddly enough, when he woke up the next morning it almost felt like a weight had been lifted off of him.

* * *

 **Please review!**

 **I'm sorry!** **I have nothing against Sachi, but according to the wiki, she was Kirito's first love, not Asuna. How was Kirito supposed to fall out of love with Sachi, in love with Asuna, and still be determined to play solo because he's afraid of seeing his friends killed for teaming up with him like he is in canon? Until he later teamed up with Asuna, I mean, but he didn't really have a choice at first. It was Sachi's death (and those of the rest of the guild) that made him who he was.**

 **Regardless of my reasons, my sister is going to kill me for doing it. Sorry, Violet!**

 **Yes, Nico is an information dealer as well as being a combat specialist. In Rick Riordan's world, from the time Nico went off on his own after Bianca's death, he always seemed to know interesting and useful information that none of the other half-bloods had access to. I think it fits. Anyway, I'll focus on him next chapter.**


	5. The World Keeps Spinning

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online or anything from Rick Riordan's world.**

 **Warning: spoilers, more angst, panic attack**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Will stared at the screen blankly, barely registering what was happening. Nico was having some of his equipment upgraded, but nothing else was going on.

He didn't hear the shouts until someone burst into the cabin, causing him to jump and whirl around.

He inhaled sharply at the sight that met him.

Annabeth and Piper, supporting Hazel between them.

Despite her darker skin, she was unnaturally pale, and her eyes were red from lack of sleep. She looked skinnier than the last time he had seen her, too, which was worrying, considering it had only been a few days.

"Get her on the bed!" he ordered immediately.

Damn it, Nico would kill him if something happened to his half-sister.

The two girls quickly obeyed, though Piper quickly held Hazel's hand to show her that she was still there.

"I think she's having a panic attack." Annabeth said shortly, looking Will in the eye. "She was feeling dizzy, so she sat down, then her chest hurt and suddenly she couldn't breathe."

"Her pulse is dangerously high." Will muttered, letting go of the girl's wrist. "What happened?"

"We passed some new camper who was talking about the game." Piper whispered, wiping away a tear. "Hazel heard them. For gods' sake, we were trying to cheer her up a bit!"

Will paled, and he took a deep breath.

He wasn't the only one who was suffering, was he?

Yes, he had a crush on Nico. But this was Nico's _sister_. And besides them, all of Nico's other friends were worried too.

With that, Will crouched down to Hazel's level, and began the process of talking her down from the attack.

* * *

Hazel ended up staying in the infirmary for a few days after that, not that the girl minded.

After all, that was where Nico was staying.

That being said, she did get better. Will set her a strict dietary plan to ensure that she didn't starve herself, which Frank and her friends enforced. He had her take a mild sleeping draught to get rid of her sleeping issues, and her friends forced her to 'have fun' for at least an hour a day.

Slowly, she began improving, and within a few months was, for the most part, back to the Hazel they all knew and loved.

The situation also managed to snap Will out of his funk.

Nico wasn't his only patient, as harsh as it sounded. And while he hadn't been _neglecting_ his duties, per say, he hadn't been entirely focused, either.

Besides, if one of Nico's friends got hurt because of Will's negligence, you could be sure that he would kick his ass for it.

What the Son of Apollo didn't realize was that Nico would be just as upset that Will wasn't taking care of _himself_.

* * *

Asuna's mother sighed, glancing away from her daughter.

Asuna had been put into the care of the best hospital in Japan, but they couldn't do anything to get her out of that stupid game.

Now, she didn't have a high opinion of 'video games' as it was, much less the more recent ones, where players could abandon their real lives.

How was her daughter supposed to find a handsome, well-off, and well-connected man to ensure her future if she was basically in a coma?

At the thought, the cold woman frowned thoughtfully as she recalled a nice young man working for her husband. What was his name?

Sugou Nobuyuki?

Yes, that was it.

He would make a fine husband for her daughter.

* * *

Thousands of miles away, another young teen sat beside her older 'brother', holding his head and staring blankly at his Nerve Gear as she thought.

Her brother had been ignoring her for the past couple years, no matter what she did to try and get him to connect with her again. Finally, she had been told _why._

Kazuto wasn't her brother. He was her cousin.

When his parents had been killed in a car crash when he was a baby, her parents had adopted him. The problem?

They had never told him.

However, being the computer genius that he was, he had managed to find out on his own.

Everything had changed for him. His parents, his sister, they weren't what he thought they were. He had been lied to by omission.

He was still trying to figure out his place in the world.

But she knew.

Sister, cousin, friend, or whatever…

His place was right next to her.

'When he gets out, I'm going to kick his butt.' Suguha thought petulantly.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**

 **Sorry if I screwed up the panic attack part, I don't know a lot about them. They're terrifying and probably really scare the people who witness them, and can cause symptoms like the ones I mentioned Hazel having.**


	6. Titan's Hand

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rick Riordan's works or Sword Art Online.**

 **Warnings: angst, mentions of murder, attempted murder, etcetera**

 **Note: Sorry, I tried to post this last night but the website was down.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Whoever's hiding out there, come out!" Kirito called, stopping Silica by putting a hand on her shoulder. "Now!"

A short moment later, a red-haired woman with short curly hair and fringe covering the right side of her face stepped out from behind a tree.

"Rosalia?" Silica asked quietly, surprised.

"If you saw through my hiding skill so easy, your detection skill must be really high, Swordsman." The woman said with a pretty smile, before glancing at Silica. "Ooh! It looks like you were successful getting your hands on the Pneuma Flower! Congratulations!"

Suddenly, her haze sharpened, and she sneered a bit. "Now hand it over before you get hurt."

"What are you talking about?" Silica asked, wide-eyed.

"No one's handing anything over, Rosalia." Kirito said calmly, and Rosalia was slightly nervous to see the darkness in his eyes as he stared at her. "Or the Orange Guild. Or should I say Titan's Hand? You're their leader, right?"

'She killed them.' Kirito thought, resisting the urge to reach for his sword, since Silica was right there. 'She's the reason Sachi and the other guys are dead.'

Rosalia paused slightly, halting in her advance as her eyes narrowed a bit more. "Nice."

"But Rosalia's cursor is green!" Silica told Kirito, glancing at the little green diamond shape above the older girl's head.

"It's an easy trick." Kirito explained. "The green members find their victims. Then they lure them straight to the orange players for the ambush."

He looked up sharply. "That was one of your pals eavesdropping on us last night at the inn, wasn't it?"

"Then…the reason you were in that party with me was to…" Silica's eyes widened in horror, realizing what had happened to the others in the party.

"How perceptive." Rosalia said, sly smile growing wider. "I was observing their strength, watching them earn all that beautiful money." She licked her lips greedily, and Silica hid behind Kirito. "You were who I was excited about, and I was _so_ sad when you left the party, but then you told me you were getting a rare item!"

As she said this, she ran her hands against the shaft of her spear.

"What I want to know is if you knew about us, why did you bring her here?" she directed the question to Kirito. "Are you dumb? Or does she have you wrapped around her finger?"

"Nope. You're wrong both times." Kirito said. "See, I've been looking all over for _you_ , Rosalia."

"What _are_ you talking about?" Rosalia asked, dropping the flirtatious tone.

"Remember two weeks ago, when you and your _guild_ killed the members of the Moonlit Black Cats guild?" Kirito asked, fists clenching slightly, enough for Silica to notice.

"Oh, those weaklings?" Rosalia huffed out a laugh. "They did have _quite_ a bit of money saved up."

Kirito scowled heavily. "Well, the thing about committing murder is that you should probably make sure that your victims don't have friends in high places…"

The redhead frowned in confusion. "Meaning?"

Kirito glared at her harshly, causing both female's eyes to widen.

"I was a member of that guild…" Kirito said quietly. "I didn't appreciate my _friends_ being killed!"

He tried to ignore the guilt eating away at him. If only he hadn't left, maybe Rosalia wouldn't have targeted them.

But then she would've picked other victims.

Speaking of which.

"Remember _ten_ days ago?" Kirito continued. "You attacked a guild called the Silver Flags? The leader survived. Four didn't."

"Oh!" Rosalia murmured, twirling her hair a bit. "The losers with no money."

"Their leader went back and forth, from the Warp Point to the Front Lines, morning 'til night, and with tears in his eyes he begged everyone he met to avenge his dead friends. But he didn't want you killed—no, he wanted you to go to prison! Do you have any idea how he felt?"

Because Kirito did.

"Can't say I do." Rosalia said airily, shifting her stance and placing a hand on her hip. "Only idiots take this seriously. So what if we kill someone in here? There's no proof dying here means you're dead IRL. Anyway, it's time you started worrying about yourselves…"

Rosalia snapped her fingers, and a moment later a group of men armed with spears and swords stepped out from the trees they'd been hiding behind.

Not that Kirito was surprised. They were even less adept at hiding than Rosalia had been. Silica, on the other hand, wasn't expecting them, and stepped back slightly.

Silica glanced at the orange diamonds. "Kirito, there's too many of them, we should get out of here!"

"No, it's okay, you'll be safe if you stay here." Kirito assured the fourteen year old, patting her on the head. "Keep the crystal handy until I say so."

"O-okay, but—" Silica reached into her pouch for the transportation crystal and turned back, only to see Kirito walking towards the group. "Kirito!"

"Kirito?!" one of the men shouted in alarm, staring at the teen's imposing figure, sword drawn.

"Dressed in black. One-handed. No shield. Holy crap, it's the Black Swordsman!" one of the men gasped.

"Rosalia, that guy!" another said, turning to the woman. "That guy! He's the Beater who plays solo at the front lines! He's with the Assault Team!"

"No way, he is?" Silica wondered, eyes widening a bit.

"Why would someone from the Assault Team be all the way down here?" Rosalia argued. "Go on! Take him out! And take everything he owns!"

With that, the men readied their swords, the weapons glowing in preparation for use.

"Die!" one of them shouted as the group lunged forward to attack.

Kirito didn't move, even as red lines appeared all over his body from the attacks.

Rosalia chuckled.

Silica grabbed her sword, ready to pull it out of its sheath. "I've got to save him! He won't last!"

But then she noticed something strange…

The men were doing damage to Kirito's health bar, yes, but…every few seconds Kirito would gain a bit more health, regaining what he lost.

"What's going on?" she whimpered as the group suddenly stopped attacking, panting for breath, though they still surrounded the older teen.

"What the hell you idiots?!" Rosalia yelled angrily. "Kill him already!"

Kirito smiled for the first time during their confrontation, before commenting on how much damage the seven men had managed to do.

"I'm level 78. I've got 14,500 HP. My battle-healing skill regenerates 600 HP every ten seconds. We could stand here all day and you wouldn't get anywhere." He said a bit smugly.

"That's not possible!"

"Wanna bet?" Kirito demanded, turning his head towards the man. "If your numbers are high enough you're invincible. MMO's that use leveling systems are unfair that way."

He pulled out a blue transportatioin crystal. "My client spent his entire savings on this crystal, and he'll get his money's worth! It's set to the coordinates of the Black Iron Prison. And I'm sending all of you bastards there!"

He didn't mention that he had reimbursed his 'client' for the crystal, paying for it himself and assuring the bewildered man that he had been searching for Titan's Hand and the information was payment enough.

Rosalia pointed her spear in his direction. "Well I'm green, and if you hurt me you'll go orange and-!"

She stopped as Kirito's sword was suddenly at her throat.

No one had even seen him move.

"I'm a solo-player, got it?" Kirito asked, glaring darkly at the redhead. "I don't care if I have to play as orange for a couple of days."

Rosalia lowered, and then dropped her spear as Silica looked in awe at Kirito.

* * *

Later that night, after Kirito had said his goodbyes to Silica and apologized for using her as bait, he found himself in a bar in one of the upper floors sitting next to Nyx.

"Long day?" Nico asked, dark brown eyes concerned for his obviously troubled friend.

Kirito sighed. "Yeah, you could say that."

Nyx didn't push, which oddly enough seemed to relax Kirito enough for him to open up a bit.

"I found Titan's Hand." He said eventually, nursing the simulated beer in his hands. Underage or not, he wished that he could feel the effects of the drink. "They're in prison."

"How are you feeling now?" Nyx asked carefully, understanding that such a delicate situation could bring mixed emotions.

He kind of considered himself a master of mixed emotions.

Kirito frowned a bit. "I'm glad that they can't hurt anybody else."

"And?" the Son of Hades urged, knowing that Kirito needed to talk about it to _someone_.

It would probably have been better to wait a day or two to let him absorb it, but he knew Kirito well enough to know that he wouldn't seek help.

Kirito clenched his fists, holding in a sob. "I…I wanted to kill her."

"That's normal." Nico assured him immediately. "She took away someone you cared about."

"But I'm not a murderer!" Kirito said, sounding slightly desperate as he stared into Nyx's eyes, trying to reassure himself of that fact.

In response, Nico slapped him upside the head. Not that it would hurt, being trapped in a game and all, but to get the slightly older teen's attention.

"Get that out of your head right now." The demigod, who was more than familiar with killing people in self-defense, said firmly.

Kirito blinked at his friend in surprise.

"Killing in self-defense or in the defense of others isn't wrong, Kirito." Nico said, eyes softening slightly. "What if Rosalia tried to run away, and the only way you could've stopped her was to kill her, and instead of doing so you hesitated? She would've escaped, and yeah, she might've laid low for a bit, but she would have found more cronies and gone right back to killing off the other players. If you have to choose between the life of a murderer and those who would become their victims, the choice is obvious."

The Black Swordsman couldn't bring himself to speak.

"So even if you had killed her, you wouldn't have been doing the wrong thing." Nyx continued. "And you didn't anyway, so why are you beating yourself up over it?"

"Because I wanted to—" Kirito tried.

"Again, a completely normal emotion in that situation." Nyx cut him off. "Trust me. I know that from experience. Though some would argue that I don't exactly embody the term 'normal,' you get what I mean. But seriously. No one who's been in that kind of situation would judge you for it."

Kirito huffed a slightly broken sounding laugh. "You know, people have asked me if we're brothers."

Nico blinked at the sudden change of topic, before raising an eyebrow. "The difference in ethnicity isn't enough of an answer?"

Kirito shrugged at that. "Who knows? But I think this answers which one of us would be the wiser one."

And with that, he stood up and began walking towards the door, before calling over his shoulder. "I'm still older! And taller!"

"And more annoying!" Nico called back, ignoring the amused laughs from the players around them.

Kirito smirked slightly, eyes still swimming with emotions but looking more at peace with himself, before he disappeared into the night.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**

 **Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated this story in a while, I've been feeling very lazy lately, as well as absorbed in the Naruto fandom.**

 **I was trying to figure out how I should play this. Have Kirito kill her?** _ **Almost**_ **kill her and have Nico stop him before he actually does it? Have her get away only for him to have to hunt her down again?**

 **No.**

 **I chose to do it this way because a) I want to stick fairly close to canon at this point and the dialogue and the interaction between Rosalia and Kirito is directly from the English dub, b) because I don't think Sachi and the boys would want Kirito to become a murderer for their sake, and c) later on in the series Kirito feels guilty enough for various things he did in SAO and I didn't want to give him more to angst about. Oh, and I didn't want Silica's little crush on Kirito to end before it really started. :P**


	7. Agil Wonders

**Disclaimer: I don't own Rick Riordan's works or Sword Art Online.**

 **Sorry this one's a short chapter, I'll try and make the next one longer.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Agil!" the Son of Hades called as he entered the shop.

A moment later, a tall man with dark skin emerged from the back room.

"What's up, Nico?" the older man asked with a grin, offering a fist bump, which Nico accepted. Percy and Leo had taken great pains to condition him not to refuse the gesture.

After the two males got to know each other a bit Agil introduced himself by his real name, Andrew Gilbert Mills, and Nico had responded in kind.

Not even Kirito knew his name. Then again, Nico didn't know Kirito's, either, and neither of them had ever bothered to ask.

"Nothing in particular." The black-haired boy said with a shrug. "We're heading out to search for the floor boss tomorrow, and I figured I'd drop by—you know, in case you never see me again. Let you bask in my presence for what might be the last time."

Agil scowled at him. He knew that Nico was being sarcastic, of course, but that didn't mean that there wasn't any truth to his words.

No one was invincible, much less those who fought on the front lines like Nyx did.

"Well then, if you're going to die tomorrow," Agil began. "I call dibs on your Col."

Nico snorted, rolling his eyes a bit at the joke.

The older man may put up a slightly greedy front, but Nico had enough experience detecting deception that he could see through it. After consulting with Argo, his fellow information dealer, he had discovered that in actuality the man used his extra income to help other players' level up…

To give them a higher chance of not being killed.

And so the two moved on to a lighter topic, conversing well into night, before Agil kicked the younger male out so that he'd have enough rest for the next day.

"Don't tempt fate, kid." He advised.

"I'm already on the Fates' bad side!" Nico called back, leaving before Agil could wonder why he phrased Fate in a plural sense.

The tall man frowned thoughtfully.

Now that he thought about it, there was a lot about Nico that was strange…

* * *

Nico huffed quietly as he dodged an attack from his opponent, Undertaker.

"This would be so much easier IRL." he muttered under his breath, watching the skeletal beast carefully.

Unfortunately, he wasn't alone, and his companion heard him.

"Pretty sure you wouldn't come across this particular problem in the real world!" Kirito called, slashing at the beast, which let out a ferocious roar.

'Sure I wouldn't.' Nico thought.

Out loud, he shouted. "You'd be surprised the kind of crap I've had to deal with!"

"Worse than the monsters in SAO?" Kirito snorted. "What, did some girl with a crush on you not react well when you came out of the closet?"

Nico scowled at him, before raising an eyebrow pointedly. "Like Asuna didn't after your little adventure with Lisbeth?"

Kirito froze for a moment, looking slightly embarrassed and barely managing to dodge as the Undertaker took advantage of his distraction before Nyx struck the killing blow. "Nothing is going on between me and Lisbeth. Or Asuna."

"Maybe not with Lisbeth, but Asuna? I'm not convinced." Nico said with a slight smirk as he put his Col from the monster into his inventory.

The Black Swordsman scowled at his friend, wishing that he knew something— _anything_ —about the boy's mystery crush so he could tease him back. Unfortunately the guy, whoever he was, wasn't in Sword Art Online, so trying to figure it out based on Nyx's reactions to the other players would get him nowhere.

"Really, though." Nico continued, enjoying Kirito's awkwardness because it was a position he found himself in frequently and it was nice not to be the one suffering it. "Solving a murder mystery with her, sharing your rare food item with her—which _she_ cooked—for dinner at her house…and aren't you going to form a party with her tomorrow?"

Kirito rubbed the back of his neck, glancing away from his friend. "What of it?"

Nyx's answering smirk was answer enough. "Better do something about it before Klein meets her."

The Japanese teen grimaced at the thought of the redhead flirting with Asuna, though he wasn't sure if it was because she could kick Klein's butt all the way back to the Town of Beginnings, or…for the reasons Nyx was implying.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**

 **Ah, I'm just imaging Nico's reaction when he finds out about the 'unfortunate incident' that's going to happen (or have happened) next chapter. Oh, his delicate early 1900's sensibilities…**


	8. Deals and Duels

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online or Rick Riordan's works.**

 **Note: This chapter was written specifically for my younger sister. She started seventh grade today, and I figured she could come home to an update of her favorite story of mine (she absolutely LOVES Sword Art Online) regardless of whether she had a good day or not, though of course I hope she did.**

 **To everyone else who is starting school soon or already has, I hope it goes well for you. Teachers who don't turn into Furies (though a centaur might be cool), tests that aren't 3 hours long, and with any luck no killer cheerleaders.**

 **Warnings: Solangelo slash, SAO spoilers (duh), etc.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Three days later, Nico finally found Kirito, who was wandering around Floor 40, looking deep in thought.

It didn't take much for the Master of Shadows, as the other players had come to call Nyx, to sneak up on the Black Swordsman and punch him in the gut.

Kirito's eyes widened in shock at the unexpected blow, and he coughed harshly as the air (virtual as it was) was knocked out of his lungs.

"You are such a _dumbass_ , Kirito!" Nico hissed angrily, removing his hand, which was still clenched in an angry fist.

"What did I do?" Kirito gasped.

"You accepted a challenge from Heathcliff!" the younger teen snapped. "You know there's something off about the Knights of the Blood Oath!"

"Asuna is one of them." Kirito said defensively. "And that's why you're angry with me?"

He would have thought it was because he went into the Boss Room after Asuna with no backup and nearly got killed by the Blue-Eyed Demon and ended up revealing a unique Sword Skill, Dual Blades, that…well, he hadn't told Nyx about.

Said boy raised an eyebrow at him. "Asuna isn't the problem, Heathcliff is. You don't think it's odd that he ended up with both the Divine Blade as well as an indestructible shield that even Argo and I don't have any intel on? We're the best info brokers in SAO for a _reason_ , Kirito. And you don't think it's odd that he's singling you out?"

"He wants to test out my—"

"You were hardly inefficient in battle before you got the Dual Blades skill." Nico interrupted, rolling his dark brown eyes. "No one's ever had any real issue with you fighting Solo on the front lines, discounting the idiots who were just trying to get you in their guild. Yet now the leader of the largest guild in SAO is challenging you _himself_ to make you one of his Knights, when he's never even tried to recruit you before?"

Kirito frowned, starting to see his friend's point.

Why _did_ Heathcliff want him to join the Knights of the Blood Oath so badly?

Was it because of the Dual Blades skill? Kirito hadn't heard of it before, so he assumed that it was a unique skill, but it couldn't be that important, could it?

"What do you want me to do, Nyx?" Kirito said, shoulders sagging. "I get where you're coming from. But I already agreed, and I can't just back out of it."

Nyx stared at him for a long minute before groaning. "Ugh. You remind me of my cousin."

Kirito bit his lip. "I'm guessing that's an insult?"

"It's not a compliment, at least." Nyx sighed. "Both of you are idiots who jump into complication situations without bothering to think about it."

(Nico didn't know it, but some of his friends at Camp Half-Blood were watching, and Percy was indignant and pouting as the others laughed at him.)

Kirito shrugged awkwardly as Nyx raised a hand to his temple in order to fend off what the players had taken to calling a 'phantom' headache.

"We're going to need to strategize." The Son of Hades said after a moment.

The two boys started walking towards a secluded area of the forest, and Nico blinked as he remembered something that he had overheard a few people talking about. "By the way, I heard you publically molested Asuna."

Being the perpetual brother to most of the girls he knew regardless of whether or not they were actually his siblings, Nico's voice was suspiciously calm and airy.

The Son of Hades didn't know Asuna as well as Kirito did, but it was the principle of the thing.

Kirito's sixth sense immediately alerted him to the danger he was in.

"It was an accident!" he defended, voice going slightly higher than usual, though he would deny it if anyone asked.

* * *

*The next day*

Heathcliff frowned curiously as his black-clad opponent unsheathed his black blade, the Elucidator, but now the blue-green sword Dark Repulsor.

Once the match had begun, it was a simple thing to simply block the young teenager's blows, but Kirito didn't seem surprised that he couldn't break through Heathcliff's admittedly legendary defenses, and still refused to draw his other sword.

"Why do you not use all of the skills at your disposal?" the older man eventually asked.

Kirito shrugged, not halting in his attacks. "Why bother? It wouldn't work anyway, your defense is too strong to break through. Besides, why show all of my cards so early in the game? People know about the skill now, but they don't know the extent of it."

Heathcliff frowned again, though he acknowledged the boy's point. They had only just cleared the 74th Floor, meaning there were 26 Floors to go.

But that also meant that Heathcliff couldn't get an accurate measure of Kirito's abilities, which he couldn't allow.

However, the teen was too stubborn in this matter. He wouldn't be able to push him into using the ability, and so he would just have to defeat him here and have Godfree test him when he fulfilled his end of the bargain and joined the Knights.

Once the Commander of the Knights of the Blood Oath had reached that conclusion, it only took a few minutes for Kirito to be overwhelmed and defeated, though they both knew that the boy wasn't really trying to win.

* * *

"Sorry Asuna." Kirito muttered to his companion after the duel had ended.

Nyx had convinced him of this plan of action, but Kirito was still annoyed that he hadn't been able to win Asuna's freedom from Heathcliff's control.

Though he had to admit that even if he hadn't been resigned to his defeat it was highly unlikely that he would have won anyway.

Asuna slapped him upside the head. "You idiot! Like I care about that. Now you're stuck here!"

Kirito shrugged. "It was always a possibility."

Asuna sighed. "Though, I have always wondered…why were you always so insistent on not joining a guild? Most people are over the 'Beater' thing by now, and I know you've gotten offers."

She was startled by the sudden pain in his dark gray eyes.

"I…I did join a guild." He admitted quietly. "The Moonlit Black Cats. A small guild made up of friends from the real world, a school computer club. I had the highest level out of all of them, and spent my time helping them level up. I had to come back to the front lines eventually, and they were going to join me soon, but they were targeted by Titan's Fist. And I wasn't there to protect them."

Asuna's eyes widened in horror, recognizing the name. The members were in the Black Iron Prison, and she had been one of the players asked by the man who had managed to escape with his life to put them there, though Kirito had beaten her to it.

Kirito continued to tell her about them. Once he started, he couldn't stop.

He described Sachi, the young girl who was so shy, the one who had been terrified that she wouldn't make it out of SAO alive, the one that he had _promised_ would. The one who he had, in his opinion, failed, and the one who had forgiven him for it, posthumously sending him a Christmas gift so that he knew that.

His guilt that he hadn't waited longer, until they could defend themselves from Rosalia and her thugs. That he had lied to them about what level he was on. How he had nearly led them into a dungeon trap, and Nyx tagging along was the only reason they hadn't fallen for it.

At the end, Kirito felt mentally and emotionally drained. At some point he had knelt on the ground, and Asuna had knelt beside him, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, though he hadn't noticed until he had stopped speaking.

Asuna was silent for a long moment.

"It's not your fault, but you know that." she finally said, smiling in a way that was sad, sweet, and sympathetic all at once. "So how about this? I'll protect you. And you can protect me. If we stick together, then we'll be able to fight together. Higher chance of survival, that way. And if we die…well, it won't be alone."

'You aren't going to lose me like you lost them.' The message went unspoken, but not unheard.

The black-haired male eventually managed to nod, though he wasn't quite sure what had just happened.

Kirito stared after the girl as she walked away, her long chestnut-colored hair flowing behind her in the breeze.

Once he couldn't see her anymore, he sighed shakily. He hated emotionally-trying moments.

"I don't think the white and red color theme will suit me as much as it does her." He muttered to himself after a moment of thought, glancing at his black and dark gray clothing. The only real color on him was his Dark Repulsor, but that was about to change…

Kirito, known by many as the Black Swordsman, Solo Player and Beater who had fought on the front lines since they cleared the very first floor, was now officially one of Heathcliff's Knights.

He only hoped it didn't come back to bite him.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**

 **Sorry that this story is more centered around the Sword Art Online characters than Nico, that might change in later story arcs, but it might not. I'm doing my best not to change the events of SAO very much, which I can't do unless I keep Nico out of most of those events where Kirito does something significant or awesome (like defeated a Floor Boss nearly single-handedly with a unique sword skill.)**

 **To be fair, Nico is on the sidelines of the main action a lot in PJO and HOO. He's not untalented, insignificant, or unimportant in any way, but he acts more as support. He does his best work in the background, manipulating events so it'll be easier for the characters in the spotlight to do what they need to do. Besides, while he likes being acknowledged, he isn't really a fan of attention.**


	9. Kuradeel

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online or any of Rick Riordan's works.**

 **Warnings: pre-slash, angst, attempted murder, etc. Also a lot of dialogue in this is taken directly from the English dub (yes, I watch the dub, I have my reasons, don't bag on me for it.)**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Kirito sighed, disappointed, as he glanced inside his lunch sack. After eating Asuna's cooking, nothing else tasted good…

He thought about the situation he found himself in. Taking an 'assessment' with one of the commanders of the Knights, to see where he stood skill-wise.

And Kuradeel, who he'd humiliated in a match for the 'right' to hang out with Asuna, was there with him, supposedly because he was on probation or something like that.

He'd rather stay as far away from the creep as possible, but what could he do about it?

Nothing, Kirito thought regretfully, pulling at his new white uniform with red trimming. He wished he'd been allowed to wear his usual black—the colors of his swords totally didn't match.

…Kirito would have to make sure Lisbeth and Klein NEVER found out he'd just thought that, or he would never hear the end of it.

He sighed, taking a sip of his drink before noticing Kuradeel staring at him with a smirk.

A second later Kirito's dark gray eyes widened, throwing the bottle away and falling backwards. He could see the other man, the commander, shudder and collapse to the floor.

'We've been poisoned.' Kirito realized as Kuradeel stood up, chuckling for a moment, which quickly escalated to full-blown insane laughter.

'Shit.' Kirito groaned.

"The hell's going on?" the commander asked, sweat pouring down his face. "You packed the water Kuradeel…what'd you do, you bastard?"

"Antidote crystals, hurry." Kirito bit out, struggling to talk.

The commander tried to reach for the supplies that he'd taken from the other two at the beginning of the trip, but Kuradeel kicked it away.

"Poor, sad old Godfrey." The man sneered. "I always knew you were a colossal idiot. But this proves you're even dumber than I thought!"

With that, he started hacking at the man with his sword, green cursor above his head turning orange.

"Stop!" Godfrey tried, health lowering.

"Here's my plan…we were walking along when—" Kuradeel rambled on, coming up with a sob story that he would return to the guild with, about how they'd been attacked, Kirito and Godfrey were killed, and how _he_ had 'courageously' fought them all off…

Kirito looked upon the scene in horror, trying and failing to move because of the paralytic poison…

Kuradeel stabbed into the older man one more time, keeping his sword there and moving it around, insane look on his face as Godfrey died, shattering into a thousand flecks of light.

* * *

Nico was walking around in one of the dungeons, grinding his levels, when he froze, an icy feeling going down his spine.

"Shit!" he hissed, turning back.

He knew what that feeling meant. One of his friends was in danger.

And he could tell _which_ friend, too.

So when he felt a 'blip' in Asuna's soul a few minutes later, he realized that the girl was probably bailing Kirito out of trouble.

He mumbled a few insults under his breath, wondering why his friends—in both SAO and IRL—were _always_ getting in danger.

But at least he and his IRL friends had a reason they attracted trouble like magnets.

What was Kirito's excuse?!

* * *

"You know, I just killed an innocent bystander because of you." Kuradeel said conversationally, walking towards Kirito. "How am I going to live with myself?"

"From over here you looked like you were having a blast." Kirito said bitterly. "Why the hell would a guy like you join the Knights of the Blood Oath? You'd be more at home with one of the criminal guilds."

"What an interesting observation. You have sharp eyes." Kuradeel pushed up his sleeve, removing his gauntlet and showing the black-haired boy the image on his arm, of a black coffin with laughing face and skeletal arm drawn in white.

"You're with Laughing Coffin!" Kirito hissed, remembering being attacked by the guild's members before. "The murder guild."

"That's where I got the skills to paralyze bastards like you." Kuradeel said with a smirk. "Where's my head? I better stop talking or the poison will wear off…and we wouldn't want that. Time to finish you off for good."

And with that, he stabbed Kirito's left arm and moving the blade around, causing the boy to grunt.

'The poison's not wearing off.' Kirito realized, watching his health drop.

"How does it feel?" Kuradeel asked, stabbing his right leg this time and moving it around again. "Come on, I want to know how it feels, knowing you're about to die like a dog…what? Is your tongue paralyzed, too?"

Kirito glared, knowing that his health was dropping lower and lower.

'Is this it?' he wondered, an image of Sachi flashing before his eyes. 'Is this where I'm gonna die?'

"Come on now!" Kuradeel said angrily. "It's your last chance to say something. You really are going to die."

And with that, he yanked his sword out, the time stabbing Kirito in the chest.

His health dropped to red.

Good to know, but he couldn't _do_ anything about it, damn it!

Kirito closed his eyes, about to give up, only to see Asuna looking at him.

He opened his eyes again, hand slowly moving towards Kuradeel's sword, which he grabbed and tried to pull out.

The man looked surprised, but recovered. "Why do you keep struggling? Are you afraid of dying after all?"

"No." Kirito answered. "I'm just not ready yet."

Kuradeel chuckled again. "Is that so? Just the way I like it!"

He pushed the sword further into Kirito, who was still trying to remove it, watching his health drop even lower. Just the tiniest bit of red left…

"Die!" Kuradeel shouted. "DIE, DIE, DIE!"

Kirito's hand stopped moving.

Suddenly a burst of green light appeared and Kuradeel was thrown back, the sword immediately removed from Kirito's chest.

He weakly turned to his savior.

Asuna.

"Heal!" she demanded, using a crystal, which shattered immediately.

Kirito's health bar was green again, fully restored.

"I made it." Asuna said, relieved. "I made it in time. Thank god. I made it." Asuna gasped to herself, staring at Kirito as she panted, having traveled as fast as she could when she realized that something was wrong.

She calmed herself slightly. "I was tracking your position on a map the whole time. And then I saw Godfrey disappear. I was afraid something had happened. But you're alive. I'm not dreaming am I?"

Kirito had started to smile slightly, "No. You're not."

Asuna smiled, before the pair heard Kuradeel get up.

She turned and glared, hand going to her rapier as she stood up and began walking towards him. "Hang on. I'll finish this."

"A-Asuna!" Kuradeel stammered. "I can explain everything! We were just training when all of a sudden, there was this—"

Asuna didn't bother to listen, thrusting her blade forward, hitting the rock right next to his head and cutting his face in the process.

"DAMN YOU!" Kuradeel shouted angrily, going to attack her.

He didn't get the chance.

Asuna wasn't called the Flash for nothing. She was probably the fastest player in SAO, and her skill was evident as she sliced away at Kuradeel, who grunted but was unable to attack back as thin red slices appeared all over his body.

Right before he would have died, Asuna stopped, though she still held him at sword point.

"I give up!" Kuradeel said, arms up. "I surrender! Please don't kill me!"

He collapsed on his knees, bowing.

"I'll leave the guild, you'll never see me again, I promise!" the man cried. "Please!"

Asuna glared at him, raising her sword—

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE!" Kuradeel shouted as the blade came nearer, causing Asuna to pause.

He let out a chuckle, grabbing his sword and disarming her, rapier landing meters away.

"The oldest trick in the book!" Kuradeel shouted, raising his sword over his head as he prepared for a swing. "And you fell for it, bitch!"

Asuna's eyes widened.

But Kirito jumped in front of her, pushing her away and taking the blow to his arm, severing his hand from his body.

Kirito screamed, his other hand glowing yellow as he activated one of his skills (AN: is it the martial arts skill that he used, or a sword skill without weapon?) as he stabbed Kuradeel in the chest.

The man stumbled back, health draining to nothing and collapsing on Kirito.

"God damn you." He whispered in Kirito's ear. "You murdered me."

And he too shattered into bright shards.

Kirito panted, realizing what had just happened.

His hand would grow back, but Kuradeel…

He swayed, collapsing to his knees.

Asuna bit her lip, walking towards him, and was about to grab his hand before she hesitated.

"I'm sorry." She said, crying. "This is all my fault. But—"

Kirito made a noise of surprise, turning towards her. "Asuna…"

"I'm sorry." Asuna repeated, tears streaming down her face and falling on her hands. "But I-I should…stay away from you. For your sake."

She closed her eyes, and Kirito panicked at her words, grabbing her shoulder firmly and looking her straight in the eyes when she opened them in surprise.

A moment later, Asuna froze in shock when Kirito leaned forward and kissed her.

When he pulled away, he started talking. "Asuna, my life belongs to you. I'd give it up for you. I want to stay with you until the end…"

Asuna smiled slightly, eyes watering again. "And I promise, I'll do anything to protect you, too. Forever. No matter what. I swear."

"I'll do everything I can to make sure you get back to the real world." Kirito said, looking up at her. "Asuna, could I…stay with you, for the night?"

Asuna blushed, but smiled slightly and nodded.

* * *

Little did he know that she had misunderstood his simple request for a guest room and thought he was asking for something _more_.

Oh well. He'd find out soon enough.

* * *

"—and we're together now." Asuna finished awkwardly. "We're getting married tomorrow. Heathcliff agreed to give us some vacation time."

Nico stared at the pair in front of him as they waited semi-nervously for his reaction.

He opened his mouth.

"Finally!" he said in exasperation, throwing his arms in the air, ignoring the whole 'marriage' part. That wasn't as big of a deal in SAO as it was in the real world, and it's not like Asuna could get pregnant in the game, much less in real life, if they went that far.

"You know Agil, Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, Argo and I had a bet going on about how long it would take you guys to get together." Nico grimaced mentally, remembering the resignation in Lisbeth and Silica's eyes, but had known better than to comment. "None of us won, because all of us bet _too early!_ "

"You bet on us?!" Asuna gasped, blushing a bit.

Kirito glanced away, embarrassed and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yeah, for all the good that did us." Nico muttered. "Figures it took something like that."

Asuna huffed, offended, slugging Nyx on the shoulder. This was not what she had expected his reaction to be!

Nico rolled his eyes. She knew that they couldn't feel physical pain, so why did she bother?

Still, he played along and rubbed at his shoulder as if it hurt.

Kirito, meanwhile, tried not to snicker at them.

"Glad you two are alive, though." Nico said absentmindedly.

And he was, really. He was just very used to people he cared about having near-death experiences, and after a while you started to become desensitized unless they actually _died._

Kirito and Asuna smiled at him.

* * *

 **Please review! :)**


	10. The Girl of Morning Dew

**Disclaimer: I don't own Sword Art Online or anything by Rick Riordan.**

 **Warnings: none for this chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

"Wow!" Asuna giggled as she ran out onto the balcony of the cabin she had bought with her new husband. "This view is amazing!"

Indeed it was. Mountains, clear blue skies, and a huge, beautiful lake, birds chirping contently.

It was the closest thing to paradise the players had come across as of yet in their journey to reach Floor 100.

"It is pretty awesome, but don't fall off the balcony." Kirito warned her with a smile, coming up beside her to lean on the railing. "That would really suck."

The two teenagers smiled at each other, and Kirito put his left arm around her waist, holding her close.

"We bought the best house." Asuna said with a happy sigh, closing her eyes.

"And now we're totally broke." Kirito said, causing his wife to laugh.

"It's worth it, though, 'cause we can live in peace here." Asuna said, placing her hand above the one Kirito had on her waist, their silver wedding rings visible.

After a moment, Asuna realized that he was staring off into the distance with a slight frown. "Kirito? What's wrong?"

The black-haired boy blinked. "Well…I was thinking. Does our relationship only exist in this world?"

"I can't believe you'd say that." Asuna said with a scowl and a slight glare.

"Uh—" Kirito grunted, backing up slightly as she got in his face.

"I don't give a damn if this is a virtual world." She insisted. "My feelings for you are real."

Kirito looked down, only for Asuna to cup his face with her hands and continue. "If I learned anything in the past two years, it's to keep doing our very best until the very end, and if we make it back to the real world, I promise I'll find you again. No matter what. And fall in love with you again."

And with that, she kissed him.

* * *

A number of floors away, Nico was hanging out yet again in Agil's shop.

"Damn!" Klein groaned. "Are we really going to do this?"

Argo scowled from beneath her gray cloak. "Shut it and pay up."

The words sounded like they physically hurt her to say, considering that she had also lost and now owed Nyx a fair bit of money, which she transferred over to him, barely containing a pained whine.

"Why thank you." Nico said with a smirk, accepting the transaction.

Agil, Silica, Lisbeth, and Klein grumbled as they sent him identical packages.

All that col, _gone._

So, here's an explanation.

Nico had lied to Asuna and Kirito when he told them that their bet over them getting together had fallen through because of how slow they were at getting their act together. Oh, sure, those of them who had chosen specific dates had already lost, but Nico had chosen a specific _situation_ in which they'd get together, choosing not to limit himself to a timeline after witnessing Percy's obliviousness about Annabeth and Nico's own former crush on him for years.

Kissing after one saved the other's life?

So predictable.

There was a reason it was a cliché, after all.

* * *

'Usually he's brash and impulsive, but he can be so naïve, too.' Asuna thought fondly as she stared at her sleeping husband. 'Almost like a little kid.'

She jolted up in shock as a thought struck her. 'Oh my god! Is he younger than me?!'

After a moment, she smiled.

So what if she was? Based on his appearance, it wouldn't be by much, and she wasn't eighteen yet, so she wasn't a pedophile. Not that their relationship was sexual right now…

*coughs awkwardly*

* * *

A few hours later, Kirito and Asuna were in the woods, Kirito having been bribed into carrying Asuna on his shoulders.

"I heard this weird rumor yesterday." He said conversationally. "How if you go deep into the forest, you'll see _them._ "

Asuna blinked, looking down at him. "See who?"

Kirito stopped. "Ghosts."

"Y-you mean those in-game astral type monsters, right?" Asuna asked, sounding slightly nervous and not noticing the slight smirk on Kirito's face.

"No, not those." Kirito said, struggling not to laugh. "Real ghosts."

Asuna let out a nervous laugh.

"They say the tortured souls of the monsters hunted here come back to wander the forests at night." Kirito said.

Asuna jumped suddenly as she heard a sudden noise.

"We're almost there." Kirito said.

"The place the rumor mentions?" Asuna asked, glancing around quickly.

"About a week ago, a carpenter hiked into the forest to get some wood for a project." Kirito ignored her question. "He stayed so long that before he knew it, it was night. As he walked, he caught a glimpse of something white standing by a tree."

Asuna's eyes widened, imagining it.

And then she gasped, turning her head.

Amongst the trees to her white…she saw a small figure dressed in white.

Just like the story!

"Was it a monster? Or something else?" Kirito asked, not realizing that Asuna had seen something. "The white figure slowly walked towards some trees…"

"H-hey!" Asuna cried, pointing. "Look!"

The figure disappeared behind a large tree.

Asuna squealed. "I want to get down, I want to get down!"

Kirito looked up in surprise. "Huh?"

But he couldn't see it, even as it appeared again, only to move behind another tree.

After all, Asuna had a higher viewpoint from his shoulders.

She leaned backwards, falling off of Kirito's back and landing on her feet.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked, confused.

Asuna ducked behind him, peeking over his shoulder.

Her gaze sharpened, and she saw it again.

"I-it's over there!" she pointed.

"What are you talking about?" Kirito asked, slightly worried, before looking…and seeing _exactly_ what she was talking about. "You've gotta be kidding!"

He had only made up that story to scare Asuna in revenge for making him carry her!

What were the chances there was an actual figure in white in the forest?!

The figure turned towards them slightly before falling backwards.

"Hold on…" Kirito muttered, before running straight towards it. "That's not a ghost!"

Asuna glanced up from where she was crouching. "Wait, Kirito! Oh, geez…"

And she followed.

A moment later, she saw what he meant.

Kirito was cradling a small girl, probably no older than ten, in his arms.

"It's another player!" Asuna gasped, looking at the cute child with long, straight black hair.

"Yeah. But there's something strange about her." Kirito murmured.

"What do you mean?" Asuna asked.

Kirito glanced at her. "She doesn't have a cursor."

Asuna glanced at the girl, who, like Kirito said, didn't have a cursor or health bar above her head. "Maybe it's some kind of bug."

"Yeah." Kirito glanced at the young girl. "Maybe it is."

"What's a little girl like this doing playing SAO?" Asuna wondered aloud.

After all, the minimum age was _supposed_ to be 13.

Though Silica had been twelve when the game was launched, so obviously not everyone listened to that rule.

Asuna's eyes softened as she stood up. "I guess we'll find out when she wakes up. But we can't just leave her out here until she does. Let's take her home with us."

Kirito glanced at her, noting the decisiveness in her tone. "Yeah. Okay."

And with that he picked her up, and they made their way out of the forest.

* * *

Nico glanced at his menu log as it dinged, indicating that he'd received a message.

 _Nyx,_

 _Have you heard anything about a missing child?_

 _Female, young, long black hair, wearing a white dress?_

 _-Kirito (and Asuna)_

Nico blinked at the strange message before sighing in exasperation.

Weren't they supposed to be on their honeymoon?

He'd better go see what they'd gotten themselves into now.

Still…a missing child?

He quickly typed out his own message to Argo, noting that Kirito hadn't, and asked the same thing.

Two heads were better than one.

* * *

"Well." Kirito sighed as he and Asuna watched over the young girl, having put her in their bed. "One thing's for sure. She's not an NPC. I didn't have any trouble moving her here."

(AN: NPC stands for non-character player, a character generated by the game.)

"Yeah, that's true." Asuna said thoughtfully. "She can't be that. If she were, she would have given off a warning when you picked her up, like other NPC's."

Kirito nodded. "And she's definitely not a quest-giver, either."

Asuna looked at him.

"Our guest log would have been updated as soon as we interacted with her." Kirito continued. "She _has_ to be a player. She's probably been out there for a while, wandering around, lost. That's the most likely scenario."

"Yeah, but what was she doing out there?" Asuna wondered.

"Your guess is as good as mine." Kirito replied. "But she has to have a parent or guardian out there, right?"

Asuna hummed in agreement. "She had to have logged on with someone from her family. I just hope they're safe."

She bit her lip, glancing at Kirito. "Hey…do you think she'll wake up?"

She scooted closer as he answered.

"Yeah. If her body hasn't disappeared, that means her body is still transmitting to and from her Nerve Gear." Kirito answered confidently. "She's in some kind of sleep mode."

"I'm sure she'll wake up soon." He said more quietly. "And the sooner the better."

"Yeah." Asuna agreed just as quietly.

* * *

That night, Asuna got up from the bed she and Kirito were now sleeping in, sitting next to the girl on the other.

'I wonder…did she log into SAO by herself?' she thought, cupping the girl's face gently with her right hand. 'Or with her family? Has she been alone here, all this time?'

She crawled into the bed next to the girl. "Sleep well. Please hurry and wake up tomorrow."

And then she fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Asuna woke up to find the girl staring at her with wide dark eyes, mouth open in surprise.

She sat up with a gasp. "K-Kirito! Wake up!"

Kirito sat up slowly from the other bed, rubbing at his eyes, voice sleepy as he responded. "Good morning. Something wrong?"

"Hurry!" she ushered him. "Get over here!"

Kirito gasped quietly, moving towards her quickly as he noticed what was going on.

"You woke up." Asuna said, relieved as she helped the girl sit up. "Thank goodness. Do you remember what happened to you?"

The girl was quiet for a long moment, before shaking her head no.

"Okay…" Asuna said, worried. "How about…your name?"

The girl frowned, and she spoke in a soft voice. "My—my name is…I think my name is…I think…Y-Yui."

Asuna and Kirito glanced at each other, slightly alarmed.

This girl could barely remember her name, and she wasn't even sure about it.

What had _happened_ to her?

"Yui!" The girl said, more certain now as she looked up. "That's it. Yui."

"That's a cute name." Asuna smiled at her. "Nice to meet you! My name's Asuna. And this is Kirito."

The boy nodded at Yui with a smile.

"Uh…una…ki-to?" Yui tried to repeat.

Asuna smiled at the cuteness. "Try to remember…what were you doing in the forest? And do you know where your mom and dad are now?"

"I-I don't know." Yui answered, looking down at her lap. "I can't remember anything."

"Oh no…" Asuna said sadly.

Kirito frowned at the two girls, not sure how to cheer them up.

"Well, you're awake!" he said, sitting on the bed next to them. "Can I call you Yui?"

"Mhm." She nodded.

"Well, you can call me Kirito." He replied with a kind smile. "Can you say Kirito?"

Asuna idly thought that he sounded like one of those kids' shows, where the characters carefully sounded out the names of things to help their audience with pronunciation.

Huh.

"Ki-to?" Yui asked.

"It's Kirito." He repeated. "Ki-ri-to."

Yui frowned, concentrating, before perking up. "Ki-to."

He smiled, patting her on the head. "That's okay, maybe it's a little hard. How about you call me whatever's easier for you?"

Yui tilted her head, looking up at him with her big eyes that, oddly enough, looked like his. "Daddy."

"M-me?" Kirito asked in surprise, pointing to himself.

But Yui had already moved on, turning towards Asuna. "A'una is…mommy."

Asuna gasped a bit, putting a hand to her face.

Well, that was unexpected.

Kirito and Asuna blushed, turning red as they avoided each other's gazes.

Yui looked at Asuna pleadingly, not sure about her reaction, and Asuna's eyes softened.

"Okay. I'm mommy." She said with a slight smile. "That works."

Yui smiled for the first time, eye widening happily as she lunged to give Asuna a hug. "Mommy! Mommy! Daddy!"

Asuna laughed, picking the girl up. "You must be hungry. How about breakfast?"

"Okay." Yui agreed cheerfully.

Kirito smiled at the two girls.

 _His_ two girls, as it had apparently been decided.

Not that he minded.

* * *

When Nico arrived, it was to see his friends and Yui eating lunch, the couple's new 'daughter' trying to eat the same thing as her daddy, aka a spicy sandwich.

Yui's face contorted as she tasted it. "I like it."

"Wow, you've got an iron stomach!" Kirito said, patting her head. "We can have a full course of extra-spicy food tonight, if you want."

"Mhm!" she agreed cheerfully.

"Okay, let's not get carried away." Asuna said with a frown. "I'm not cooking anything nuclear."

"You heard the lady." Kirito said with a smile.

"You heard the lady?" Yui repeated.

Both of them laughed, and Asuna smiled at them softly.

"Interesting." Nico spoke up, causing all three of them to jump.

"Nyx!" Asuna said cheerfully after getting over her surprise. "Any news?"

He grimaced slightly, shaking his head. "Nothing's been reported. Sorry."

The two other teens frowned. "It's alright. We'll figure it out."

Yui walked towards Nico slowly, glancing between him and Kirito in confusion as she noticed the similarities in their appearance. "W-who-?"

Seeing that she was trying to figure out how to say what she wanted, Asuna smiled. "Yui, this is Nyx, a good friend of mommy and daddy's. Nyx, this is Yui!"

Nico raised an eyebrow in shock, staring between his two friends for a moment, before turning to the small girl, who was looking at him nervously.

Unconsciously, he smiled kindly. "Hello, Yui. It's nice to meet you."

He offered her his hand, which she shook happily with a beaming smile at him.

Asuna and Kirito glanced at him in surprise. There was a certain softness to that smile that they hadn't seen before.

They didn't know it, but Nico was remembering Hazel, his slightly younger (if you didn't count the fact that she'd been born first, he'd still been alive longer) sister.

And the innocence in her gaze reminded him of Chuck, Coach Hedge's son. Nico's _godson._

"Ni!" Yui exclaimed, hugging him, causing the boy to stumble back in surprise before wrapping an arm around her to make sure she didn't fall."

"No, it's 'Nyx." Asuna smiled.

"Ni." The young girl insisted.

"I don't mind." Nico assured them.

He wondered, though.

The way she said 'Ni,' it was like she was starting to say Nico, not Nyx.

Or she could be trying to say '-nii,' which was the Japanese honorific for brother, but he wasn't sure that was why.

Was it a coincidence?

Or was there something more to it?

* * *

 **Please review! :)**


	11. AN: Chapter 1 of Re-Write up!

Hi guys!

So, I've decided to re-write this, because it feels half-assed to me and I'm not satisfied. Chapter one is already up and with added and revised scenes, so head on over and tell me what you think! The title is Can't Catch a Break Re-write, to make it simple.

-Rayvn


End file.
